Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Rainer
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Montana Sky
Not to start an argument, but who in their right mind tows across the nations interstates at 50 mph!! Average speed limit out west is 75mph - towing or not. I just did Chicago, IL to Spokane, WA in 2 days. That trip with a slight detour totaled 2038 miles. My total average speed was 76 mph - not towing my coach, but instead a 39' triple axle hauler trailer. Average number of hours on the road was 14.5 hours stopping only for fuel twice each day
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Average speed is the distance traveled divided by time. It does NOT indicate any actual speed.
Because I was traveling with ST tires, I kept my cruise control set at 58mph. We stop for food and potty breaksorif we see something interesting. We normally leave a campground between 10am and 11am, and drive for about 6 hours, which is usually 250 miles. Based on that, my average speed is about 42mph.
According to Google, the distance between Chicago and Spokane is 1786 miles. If you drove that distance in 29 hours, your average speed was just about 62mph.
Here's a little pop quiz: the distance to drive is just one mile. If you drove the first half-mile at 30mph, how fast would you have to drive the second half mile to average 60mph?
Answer: it's impossible! Why? Because if you drove the first half mile at 30mph, you spent one minute doing it, and that wouldn't leave any time to drive one mile at 60mph, since to do so you have to have driven the entire mile in one minute. 60mph = 1 mile per minute.
On a side note:
Maximum tow speeds by states based on the size of your trailer:
Illinois 55mph
Wisconsin 65mph
Minnesota 70mph
North Dakota 70mph
Montana 75mph
Idaho 65mph
Washington 65mph
* all speeds compliments of http://towingworld.com/towinglaws.cfm
I'm speculating that you probably exceeded the speed limit considerably in practically every state you traveled through.
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One might want to put boots on the ground to actually know what the speed limit is in each state before spouting off some website. Speed limit in IL is 65 mph, IA is 70 mph, SD is 75 mph, WY is 75 mph, MT is 75 mph, ID is 65 mph, WA is 70 mph. And being the bulk of my trip was in SD, WY, MT, ID, and WA - it puts me within 1 mph margin of the limit on average. I don't have a wife or dog that needs to stretch their legs every few hours. I have 132 gallons of fuel on board so stopping is only when I decide it is necessary. My total hours on the road divided by the total number of miles I traveled equals my average speed. I am glad to see that you can use MapQuest and Google to determine mileage distance from point A to point B. As I indicated in one of my previous posts, I had traveled 2038 miles as I had a detour along the way. I do not add time for "stretching the legs" or stopping for food into my average speed. It is calculated by wheels rolling. Last thing I am going to say to you about this is: I wish you safe travels at whatever speed you feel comfortable traveling at. I assume should our paths ever cross, I know I will be able to find you in the right hand lane going slower than the posted speed limit.